Deacon Greg comments here about flip flops and tank tops at Mass. A local priest here in Greenville recently preached about this and made some interesting points--one of them being that the clergy dress up for Mass so why shouldn't the people? This led me to wonder what would happen if we rang the bell and the organ started in on the processional hymn and the clergy came sauntering up the aisle in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, flip flops and shades. Happily, at Our Lady of the Rosary parish most people dress nicely for Mass.
It's a commonplace to blame the people for coming to Mass dressed for a cook out, but is it really all their fault? After all, the way Mass is celebrated is often so casual that it does seem more appropriate to wear fun summertime gear. If the priest has what I call a 'game show host' approach to celebrating the liturgy, no wonder the people come dressed down. If Father Johnny Carson says, "The Lord be With You, say how're y'all doing this morning? Have you heard the one about the fellow who hadn't been to confession for fifty years..." You get the idea. If the priest celebrates the Mass with dignity and beauty and a sense of solemnity the people will soon respond in the way they come to Mass.
If the music at Mass is a some sort of secular style of music with 'spiritual' words, no wonder the people dress as if they're at a pop concert. Music that is of the style of a Broadway musical, or a country western jamboree or a rock concert or a folk song singalong will produce the behavior and dress that is appropriate. Sacred music, on the other hand, might just start to produce modest and sensible apparel and reverent behavior
This is not meant to be a rant against AmChurch churches with all their attendant, sweet and comfortable heresies. Instead it is a plea to all our people. We deserve better than this don't we? Can't we improve on what we're doing at Mass? Even just a little?
Lately at Mass I've felt a bit like I'm on the set of one of the "High School Musical" movies... but at least no one's changed the words to the Our Father at our current parish (that was the case at our last one...).
ReplyDeleteI've had the feeling more and more lately that we'd do better at Mass if people stopped trying to "improve" it by being "creative" and "expressing themselves through the Mass...
I used to be aghast about this kind of thing myself, but I admit, I've worn nice flip flops to Mass this summer with dresses or a skirt and blouse appropriate for worship. A good part of the world wears sandals and flip flops 24/7 because of the climate or custom. I just can't get worked up about condemning a particular style of shoe any more. Generally when I see folks dressed inappropriately for Mass I try to give them the benefit of the doubt...that they're trying to please God as best they know how, that they're broken like me and that I should mostly keep my eyes on my own work.
ReplyDeleteOk, my peeves:
ReplyDelete- folks in t-shirts, shorts and odd footwear
- folks coming in during the second reading, and bolting right after communion
- folks who, while I am kneeling in prayer before Mass, tap me on the shoulder to say good morning
- and finally, the high noise level before Mass, mostly generated by choir members and the RCIA team, all of whom should know better!!
I have no real problem with (un)dress at daily Mass. And I do see that summertime is amenable to more casual attire. I still can't get used to Sunday Mass with sleeveless, spaghetti strap, or shoulderless dresses/blouses on ladies, or shorts on men. With young boys or girls, it's a different thing. I've tried through the bulletin several times, to promote modesty of dress for men and women. Most of the folks get it, but some are defiant and argumentative about the subject in a rather adolescent manner.
ReplyDeleteWhen I suggested to one that I could appear for Mass as they did, I was firmly told that "It doesn't matter!" I wish I could reach this family. The openly rebellious attitude of the parents is sure rubbing off on the children.
I never felt more comfortable at Mass or enjoyed the liturgy more than when I felt that what I wore was unimportant. I grew up having to dress nicely for Mass but when I returned to church after having children there was little money for fancy clothes and I always felt self conscious, focused more on what everyone was wearing and how I measured up (or didn't) than on the Mass. Granted, there are standards of cleanliness and decency that should be observed but otherwise, bring on the flip flops and the (long) shorts! I think that in medieval times just wearing a long gown didn't necessarily mean one was well dressed, it's just what every woman wore. The poor should be made to feel welcome, not alienated through dress.
ReplyDeleteI think that we have lost to some extent the sense of the awe and majesty of God. The irony is, of course, that the saints who really had a true and intimate friendship with God were very much impressed by his majesty, glory, and dignity. We do not gain a greater degree of intimacy by trying to pull God down from his throne. He has already come down and is now trying to pull us up. We can only lose intimacy by forgetting about his majesty.
ReplyDeleteI think that we have lost to some extent the sense of the awe and majesty of God. The irony is, of course, that the saints who really had a true and intimate friendship with God were very much impressed by his majesty, glory, and dignity. We do not gain a greater degree of intimacy by trying to pull God down from his throne. He has already come down and is now trying to pull us up. We can only lose intimacy by forgetting about his majesty.
ReplyDeleteI can say that again!
ReplyDeleteGert, I think it is one thing entirely not to be able to dress nicely at all but to do the best you can. It is another thing entirely to dress down from carelessness or on purpose.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that people don't know the difference when they are looking at you is just one reason why we should not be too concerned with observing others at Mass and making judgments about them. Certainly, it would be terrible if poor people are made to feel unwelcome because they do not have nice clothing. When a person makes the best effort with what they have in the situation they are in, then that is as good a way of observing the dignity of the occasion as any other.
However, noting a general trend that cannot be explained away by poverty is a different matter yet again, and especially when it also concerns modesty. And it is a good thing for a priest to try to do what he can to remedy what he observes as taking away from the dignity of the occasion.
We can certainly err both in making too much and too little of how we dress for Mass.
Just because Father wears sandals (and he's diocesan) and crap vestments and that the music is an assortment of Mary Haugen and David Haas is no excuse for me to dress down or act casually. What sort of example am I setting for my children if I read the bulletin and joke around while the sacred mysteries are being celebrated?
ReplyDeleteIf I don't take it seriously, then they won't either.
I believe part of the problem stems from people thinking they are attending church to be entertained rather than worship God. Attending mass isn't the equivelent of going to a movie or out to dinner; it is a sacred event that we all enter into and we must show our greatest reverence, love and respect for the one who loves us immeasurably...so dressing casually shows respect or reverence? It's like not giving got your best but your "left overs," who want that? He wants our best and certainly deserves it.
ReplyDeleteI mean it's like not give God your best not got...
ReplyDeleteActually, I bet most Catholics who were Catholic during the Seventies have seen priests who dressed down for Mass much as you have described. Not many, thank God.
ReplyDeleteHere's an interesting link to more food for thought regarding the topic. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column.php?n=1714 By Bishop Arthur Serratelli who is the Bishop of Paterson, NJ.
ReplyDeleteIt took awhile, but for me the question simply became: "How would I dress to meet the Pope, the President, to go to a wedding, a social function, a business meeting or a funeral?"
ReplyDeleteIf I would make a special effort to 'dress up' for those occasions why am I not making a similar effort to go and meet Our Lord? The answer was a no-brainer. And this was after years of going to Mass in shorts during the summer (albeit, dress shorts!).
It has nothing to do with money. And to compare North America today with a time in history when people had only one piece of clothing to their name is not really being honest. You can still go back historically to find that people had clothes they wore in the field and then an outfit to wear to church/temple.
ReplyDeleteIt has everything to do with context and situational appropriateness and willful obstinancy.
When people see the Mass as just an extension of the mall, their backyard, a garage sale, an errand run, or a concert, then there is really little that will convince them otherwise that their halter top, crappy flip-flops, skin-tight jeans, and t-shirts don't fit there.
Again, if Mass is somewhere you feel you should be just as comfortable at as a coffee shop or your backyard deck, not much more to be said then.
It reminds me of that episode of "The Simpsons" when self-help guru, Brad Goodman, ushers in a new wave of awareness. Springfield's new "Do As You Feel" festival replaces the early German settlers "Do As We Say" festival. If anyone remembers that episode, we know that the new festival brought about Patty, Selma, and their "hairy yellow drumsticks" riding naked through a car wash on the back of a horse and the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, inquiring after his audience crashed into a heap why the bandstand wasn't double-bolted. I believe the response was, "I didn't feel like it."
of all the things that come my way on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, this doesn't rank high on my "bucket list".
ReplyDeletei once had a young woman who came to mass with army boots, pins and diamonds stuck in her neck, her lip & God knows where else, when people complained about her, i asked them: "would you prefer her in a bar, strip club, name the place! Something is happening in her life that is drawing her to the Eucharist!"
I don't endorse dressing down but reading fr.'s comments brought to mind boyhood memories of my favorite capuchin priests who inspired me. They wore sandals & shorts (under their brown scapular, of course).....